Distributed congestion control method and robot

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure provides a distributed congestion control method and a robot. The method includes: disposing a first area and a second area centered on a target point; detecting, when a first robot moves towards the target point, whether there are other robots in the second area or not, and in a case where there are other robots in the second area, coordinating the first robot and the other robots to determine a second robot allowed to simultaneously enter the first area; and controlling the second robot to move towards the target point in a case where the second robot has entered the first area.

CROSS REFERENCE

This application claims priority to Chinese Application No.202011319788.4 filed on Nov. 23, 2020 with China National IntellectualProperty Administration, the entirety of which is herein incorporated byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of mobile communication, andin particular relates to a distributed congestion control method and arobot.

BACKGROUND

In a related art, with the continuous development of robot technologies,robots play a more and more important role in the field of storage. Inthe working process of storage robots, a large number of robots areoften required to cooperate to complete a task. For example, in awarehouse where mobile robots are used for picking, hundreds or eventhousands of robots may cooperate with each other to complete acommodity picking task. In the process that a large number of robotscooperate in the same environment, when a plurality of mobile robotshave the same target point and go to the same picking area, or aplurality of mobile robots go to a packing table at the same time, robotcongestion often occurs. When robot congestion occurs, the risk of robotcollision may be greatly increased. At the same time, the slow movementof the robots may greatly affect the efficiency of commodity picking.Therefore, congestion management is very necessary in a multi-machinesystem where a large number of robots cooperate with each other.

In the related art, the congestion problem is generally solved bycentralized control, that is, a central server is used for calculatingan optimal moving trajectory for each robot in a robot group, so as toreduce the risk of robot congestion. However, the above processingscheme has obvious disadvantages: on one hand, the scheme relies heavilyon the central server, and when the central server fails, the wholesystem may be paralyzed; on the other hand, with the increase of thenumber of robots, the computing pressure of the central server may begreater and greater, and the production cost may be higher and higher.

SUMMARY

The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a distributedcongestion control method, which includes the following operations.

A first area and a second area are disposed centered on a target point.The first area is included in the second area.

When a first robot moves towards the target point, whether there areother robots in the second area or not is detected. In a case wherethere are other robots in the second area, the first robot and the otherrobots are coordinated to determine a second robot allowed tosimultaneously enter the first area.

The second robot is controlled to move towards the target point in acase where the second robot has entered the first area.

In at least one exemplary embodiment, before the operation that thefirst area and the second area are disposed centered on the targetpoint, wherein the first area is included in the second area, the methodmay include the following operations.

Each robot independently maintains a state machine.

A normal state, a suspended state, a locked state and a continue stateof the robot are determined by the state machine.

In at least one exemplary embodiment, the operation that whether thereare other robots in the second area or not is detected when the firstrobot moves towards the target point, and in a case where there areother robots in the second area, the first robot and the other robotsare coordinated to determine the second robot allowed to simultaneouslyenter the first area includes the following operations.

When the first robot moves towards the target point, it is determinedthat the first robot is in the normal state.

When the first robot enters the second area, whether there are otherrobots in the second area or not is detected.

In at least one exemplary embodiment, the operation that whether thereare other robots in the second area or not is detected when the firstrobot moves towards the target point, and in a case where there areother robots in the second area, the first robot and the other robotsare coordinated to determine the second robot allowed to simultaneouslyenter the first area further includes the following operations.

In the case where there are other robots in the second area, whethertarget points of the other robots are the same as the target point ofthe first robot or not is detected.

In a case where the target points of the other robots are the same asthe target point of the first robot, the first robot is switched fromthe normal state to the suspended state.

In at least one exemplary embodiment, the operation that whether thereare other robots in the second area or not is detected when the firstrobot moves towards the target point, and in a case where there areother robots in the second area, the first robot and the other robotsare coordinated to determine the second robot allowed to simultaneouslyenter the first area further includes the following operations.

A third area corresponding to the first robot is determined centered onthe first robot.

The first robot is controlled to perform obstacle avoidance movement inthe third area.

In at least one exemplary embodiment, the operation that whether thereare other robots in the second area or not is detected when the firstrobot moves towards the target point, and in a case where there areother robots in the second area, the first robot and the other robotsare coordinated to determine the second robot allowed to simultaneouslyenter the first area further includes the following operations.

Whether a state of the first robot is able to be changed or not isdetected according to a preset detection cycle.

A first probability of keeping the suspended state is determined, and asecond probability of switching from the suspended state to the continuestate is determined.

In at least one exemplary embodiment, the operation that whether thereare other robots in the second area or not is detected when the firstrobot moves towards the target point, and in a case where there areother robots in the second area, the first robot and the other robotsare coordinated to determine the second robot allowed to simultaneouslyenter the first area further includes the following operations.

The first robot is controlled to move towards the target point in a casewhere the first robot is switched from the suspended state to thecontinue state.

The first robot is switched from the continue state to the normal statewhen the first robot reaches the target point.

In at least one exemplary embodiment, after the operation that whetherthere are other robots in the second area or not is detected when thefirst robot moves towards the target point, and in a case where thereare other robots in the second area, the first robot and the otherrobots are coordinated to determine the second robot allowed tosimultaneously enter the first area, the method may include thefollowing operations.

The second robot is switched from the normal state to the locked statein a case where the second robot in the normal state is outside thesecond area and a robot in the suspended state or the locked state isdetected.

The second robot in the locked state is controlled to perform obstacleavoidance movement in the third area, and the second robot is switchedfrom the locked state to the suspended state when the second robotreaches the second area during the obstacle avoidance movement.

The second robot is switched from the normal state to the locked statein a case where the second robot is outside the second area and a robotin the suspended state or the locked state is not detected.

The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a robot. Therobot is capable of performing autonomous obstacle avoidance controlamong a plurality of robots. The robot is configured to perform movingtasks under distributed congestion control. The robot includes a mobilebase, a sensing assembly and a processor.

The mobile base is configured to drive a robot to independently navigateto a target point of a task to be executed.

The sensing assembly determines whether there are other robots in anadjacent area of the robot or not through distance detection.

The processor is configured to perform distributed congestion control tocontrol the robot to reach the target point;

dispose a first area and a second area centered on the target point,wherein the first area is included in the second area;

detect, when a first robot moves towards the target point, whether thereare other robots in the second area or not, and in a case where thereare other robots in the second area, coordinate the first robot and theother robots to determine a second robot allowed to simultaneously enterthe first area; and

control the second robot to move towards the target point in a casewhere the second robot has entered the first area.

The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide acomputer-readable storage medium. A distributed congestion controlprogram is stored on the computer-readable storage medium. When thedistributed congestion control program is executed by a processor, theoperations of the distributed congestion control method as described inany one of the above embodiments are performed.

By implementation of the distributed congestion control method and therobot in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first area andthe second area are disposed centered on the target point, wherein thefirst area is included in the second area; when the first robot movestowards the target point, whether there are other robots in the secondarea or not is detected, and in a case where there are other robots inthe second area, the first robot and the other robots are coordinated todetermine the second robot allowed to simultaneously enter the firstarea; and the second robot is controlled to move towards the targetpoint in a case where the second robot has entered the first area. Amoreefficient distributed congestion control scheme is implemented, so thatthe robot can independently perform anti-congestion control according tothe position of the robot and the states of adjacent robots in theprocess of task execution, the problems of system instability andrelatively high resource occupation caused by centralized congestioncontrol are avoided, the execution efficiency of congestion control isincreased, and the production cost is reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will be further described in combination with thedrawings and embodiments below.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of a distributed congestioncontrol method of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a second embodiment of a distributed congestioncontrol method of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a third embodiment of a distributed congestioncontrol method of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a fourth embodiment of a distributed congestioncontrol method of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a fifth embodiment of a distributed congestioncontrol method of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a sixth embodiment of a distributed congestioncontrol method of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a seventh embodiment of a distributedcongestion control method of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an eighth embodiment of a distributedcongestion control method of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a state machine of a distributedcongestion control method of the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of area division of a distributedcongestion control method of the embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

It is to be understood that, the exemplary embodiments described hereinare only used to explain the present disclosure and are not used tolimit the present disclosure.

In the subsequent description, suffixes such as “module”, “part” or“unit” used to represent elements are used only to facilitate thedescription of the embodiments of the present disclosure withoutexerting specific limitations. Therefore, “module”, “part” or “unit” canbe used in a mixed manner.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of a distributed congestioncontrol method of the present disclosure. A distributed congestioncontrol method includes operations S1 to S3 which are described indetail as follows.

At S1, a first area and a second area are disposed centered on a targetpoint, wherein the first area is included in the second area.

At S2, when a first robot moves towards the target point, whether thereare other robots in the second area or not is detected, and in a casewhere there are other robots in the second area, the first robot and theother robots are coordinated to determine a second robot allowed tosimultaneously enter the first area.

At S3, the second robot is controlled to move towards the target pointin a case where the second robot has entered the first area.

In this embodiment, firstly, the first area and the second area aredisposed centered on the target point, wherein the first area isincluded in the second area. It should be noted that, this embodimentmay adaptively provide a robot individual based and independentdistributed congestion management scheme for the shortcomings of acentralized congestion management scheme. Specifically, firstly, thetarget point of a robot in the process of executing a task isdetermined, and the target point may be the common target point of aplurality of robots in the same area, or the common point that theplurality of robots may pass through in the process of executing thetask. It can be understood that, the target point does not only refer toan execution point of the task, but also includes a coincidence orintersection point in the paths of the plurality of robots, and possiblecongestion may occur in the vicinity of these points. Therefore, thisembodiment takes this point as the target point for subsequentdescription. In this embodiment, after determining any target pointthrough which the plurality of robots may pass at the same time or atwhich the plurality of robots may stay at the same time, the first areaand the second area are disposed centered on the target point, the firstarea is included in the second area, and the area range and area shapeof the first area and the second area are not specifically limited. Inthis embodiment, the first area is included in the second area, or thereare a plurality of first areas included in the same second area.

In this embodiment, when the first robot moves towards the target point,whether there are other robots in the second area or not is detected,and in a case where there are other robots in the second area, the firstrobot and the other robots are coordinated to determine the second robotallowed to simultaneously enter the first area. It should be noted that,in order to realize robot distributed congestion control, in thisembodiment, an independent state machine may be set for each robot, theposition of the robot may be determined through the state machine, andother robots adjacent to the robot may be sensed through the statemachine, so that the motion strategy planning of obstacle avoidance andcongestion prevention may be performed according to the aboveinformation. In some exemplary implementations of this embodiment,instead of using a central processing unit to calculate the trajectoryfor each robot, the robot may independently determine the optimal motionstrategy in combination with its own target point information andsurrounding neighbor information, so as to avoid congestion, reduce therisk of collision between robots and improve the cooperation efficiency.For example, each robot may use a state machine, and a plurality ofrobots are coordinated to achieve the same behavior. For example, in theactual operation scenario, some robots may choose to wait to avoidinterference with other robots. Therefore, the number of robots going tothe same target point at the same time can be reduced, which can reducethe probability of congestion. However, it should be noted that, thisscheme does not completely prohibit a plurality of robots from going tothe same target point at the same time, instead, the number of robotsgoing to the same target point at the same time is reduced, that is,when the number of robots in the target area is reduced, the robotcollision probability can be greatly reduced. At last, when the secondrobot has entered the first area, in order to improve the executionefficiency, the second robot is directly controlled to move towards thetarget point without waiting or suspending.

This embodiment has the beneficial effects that: the first area and thesecond area are disposed centered on the target point, wherein the firstarea is included in the second area. When the first robot moves towardsthe target point, whether there are other robots in the second area ornot is detected, in a case where there are other robots in the secondarea, the first robot and the other robots are coordinated to determinethe second robot allowed to simultaneously enter the first area.Finally, the second robot is controlled to move towards the target pointin a case where the second robot has entered the first area. A moreefficient distributed congestion control scheme is implemented, so thatthe robot can independently perform anti-congestion control according tothe position of the robot and the states of adjacent robots in theprocess of task execution, the problems of system instability andrelatively high resource occupation caused by centralized congestioncontrol are avoided, the execution efficiency of congestion control isincreased, and the production cost is reduced.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a second embodiment of a distributed congestioncontrol method of the present disclosure. On the basis of the aboveembodiment, before the operation that the first area and the second areaare disposed centered on the target point, wherein the first area isincluded in the second area, the method includes operations S01 and S02which are described in detail below.

At S01, each robot independently maintains a state machine.

At S02, a normal state, a suspended state, a locked state and a continuestate of the robot are determined by the state machine.

In this embodiment, FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a state machine ofa distributed congestion control method of the embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Each robot independently maintains a state machine, and thenormal state, the suspended state, the locked state and the continuestate of the robot are determined by the state machine.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, each robotmay be switched from the normal state to the suspended state, or therobot may be switched back to the normal state after switching.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, each robotmay be switched from the suspended state to the continue state, or therobot may be switched back to the suspended state after switching.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, each robotmay be switched from the continue state to the normal state, or therobot may be switched back to the continue state after switching.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, each robotmay be switched from the normal state to the locked state, or the robotmay be switched back to the normal state after switching.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, each robotmay be switched from the locked state to the suspended state, or therobot may be switched back to the locked state after switching.

In at least one exemplary embodiment, there is a probability p for eachrobot to switch from the suspended state to the continue state, andthere is a probability (1-p) for each robot to maintain the suspendedstate.

This embodiment has the beneficial effects that: each robotindependently maintains a state machine, and the normal state, thesuspended state, the locked state and the continue state of the robotare determined by the state machine. The embodiment provides the settingbasis of the state machine for realizing a more efficient distributedcongestion control scheme, so that the robot can independently performanti-congestion control according to the position of the robot and thestates of adjacent robots in the process of task execution, the problemsof system instability and relatively high resource occupation caused bycentralized congestion control are avoided, the execution efficiency ofcongestion control is increased, and the production cost is reduced.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a third embodiment of a distributed congestioncontrol method of the present disclosure. On the basis of the aboveembodiment, the operation that whether there are other robots in thesecond area or not is detected when the first robot moves towards thetarget point, and in a case where there are other robots in the secondarea, the first robot and the other robots are coordinated to determinethe second robot allowed to simultaneously enter the first area includesoperations S21 and S22 which are described in detail as follows.

At S21, when the first robot moves towards the target point, it isdetermined that the first robot is in the normal state.

At S22, when the first robot enters the second area, whether there areother robots in the second area or not is detected.

In this embodiment, firstly, when the first robot moves towards thetarget point, it is determined that the first robot is in the normalstate, and when the first robot enters the second area, whether thereare other robots in the second area or not is detected.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, when thefirst robot moves towards the target point, it is determined that thefirst robot is in the normal state, and the first robot refers to anyone or more robots moving towards the same target point.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, whetherthere are other robots in the second area or not is detected when thefirst robot enters the second area, and whether there are other robotsin the second area or not is detected through a distance sensingassembly of the first robot.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of area division of a distributedcongestion control method of the embodiment of the present disclosure.In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, the firstarea is included in the second area, the first area and the second areamay be concentric circular areas centered on the above target point.Since the first area is closer to the target point indicated by X thanthe second area, in this embodiment, the first area may also be used asa safety area, and the second area may be used as a dangerous area.

This embodiment has the beneficial effects that: when identifying thatthe first robot moves towards the target point, it is determined thatthe first robot is in the normal state, and when the first robot entersthe second area, whether there are other robots in the second area ornot is detected. The embodiment provides the setting basis of tworelated areas for realizing a more efficient distributed congestioncontrol scheme, so that the robot can independently performanti-congestion control according to the position of the robot and thestates of adjacent robots in the process of task execution, the problemsof system instability and relatively high resource occupation caused bycentralized congestion control are avoided, the execution efficiency ofcongestion control is increased, and the production cost is reduced.

Fourth Embodiment

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a fourth embodiment of a distributed congestioncontrol method of the present disclosure. On the basis of the aboveembodiment, the operation that whether there are other robots in thesecond area or not is detected when the first robot moves towards thetarget point, and in a case where there are other robots in the secondarea, the first robot and the other robots are coordinated to determinethe second robot allowed to simultaneously enter the first area furtherincludes operations S23 and S24 which are described in detail below.

At S23, in the case where there are other robots in the second area,whether target points of the other robots are the same as the targetpoint of the first robot or not is detected.

At S24, in a case where the target points of the other robots are thesame as the target point of the first robot, the first robot is switchedfrom the normal state to the suspended state.

In this embodiment, in the case where there are other robots in thesecond area, whether target points of the other robots are the same asthe target point of the first robot or not is detected, and in a casewhere the target points of the other robots are the same as the targetpoint of the first robot, the first robot is switched from the normalstate to the suspended state.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, as mentionedabove, since the first area is closer to the target point indicated by Xthan the second area, in this embodiment, the first area may also beused as a safety area, and the second area may be used as a dangerousarea. Moreover, the safety area and dangerous area may be any one of acircular area, a square area and an irregular area.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, in the abovedifferent area forms, the position of the first robot in the second areais determined, and whether target points of the other robots are thesame as the target point of the first robot or not is detected based onthe position and the area forms.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, in a casewhere the target points of the other robots are the same as the targetpoint of the first robot, the first robot is switched from the normalstate to the suspended state, that is, when detecting the possibility ofcongestion, the moving state of the robot is switched to the suspendedstate.

This embodiment has the beneficial effects that: in the case where thereare other robots in the second area, whether target points of the otherrobots are the same as the target point of the first robot or not isdetected, and in a case where the target points of the other robots arethe same as the target point of the first robot, the first robot isswitched from the normal state to the suspended state.

The embodiment provides a detection processing scheme of a dangerousarea for realizing a more efficient distributed congestion controlscheme, so that the robot can independently perform anti-congestioncontrol according to the position of the robot and the states ofadjacent robots in the process of task execution, the problems of systeminstability and relatively high resource occupation caused bycentralized congestion control are avoided, the execution efficiency ofcongestion control is increased, and the production cost is reduced.

Fourth Embodiment

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a fifth embodiment of a distributed congestioncontrol method of the present disclosure. On the basis of the aboveembodiment, the operation that whether there are other robots in thesecond area or not is detected when the first robot moves towards thetarget point, and in a case where there are other robots in the secondarea, the first robot and the other robots are coordinated to determinethe second robot allowed to simultaneously enter the first area furtherincludes operations S25 and S26 which are described in detail below.

At S25, a third area corresponding to the first robot is determinedcentered on the first robot.

At S26, the first robot is controlled to perform obstacle avoidancemovement in the third area.

In this embodiment, a third area corresponding to the tint robot isdetermined centered on the first robot, and the first robot iscontrolled to perform obstacle avoidance movement in the third area.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, as mentionedabove, in the case where a robot in the suspended state remainsabsolutely stationary, this robot may interfere with the movement ofother robots. Therefore, in this embodiment, a relatively small thirdarea which is centered on the suspended robot may be set for the robotin the suspended state, that is, in this third area, the robot isallowed to avoid obstacles in a small range, so as to avoid interferenceto the movement of other robots.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, when a robotj in the normal state moves towards the target point, the followingcontrol strategy may be adopted:

${u_{j} = {{a \cdot t_{j}} - {b \cdot {\sum\limits_{i \in N_{j}}{r\left( {i,j} \right)}}}}},$

where uj represents a control output of a control to the robot j, a andb are constants greater than 0, tj is a function that drives the robotto move towards the target point, Nj represents all neighbors of therobot j, and r(i, j) is a repulsion function that drives the robot jaway from other robots.

This embodiment has the beneficial effects that: the third areacorresponding to the first robot is determined centered on the firstrobot, and the first robot is controlled to perform obstacle avoidancemovement in the third area. The embodiment provides an obstacleavoidance processing scheme of a dangerous area for realizing a moreefficient distributed congestion control scheme, so that the robot canindependently perform anti-congestion control according to the positionof the robot and the states of adjacent robots in the process of taskexecution, the problems of system instability and relatively highresource occupation caused by centralized congestion control areavoided, the execution efficiency of congestion control is increased,and the production cost is reduced.

Sixth Embodiment

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a sixth embodiment of a distributed congestioncontrol method of the present disclosure. On the basis of the aboveembodiment, the operation that whether there are other robots in thesecond area or not is detected when the first robot moves towards thetarget point, and in a case where there are other robots in the secondarea, the first robot and the other robots are coordinated to determinethe second robot allowed to simultaneously enter the first area furtherincludes operations S27 and S28 which are described in detail below.

At S27, whether a state of the first robot is able to be changed or notis detected according to a preset detection cycle.

At S28, a first probability of keeping the suspended state isdetermined, and a second probability of switching from the suspendedstate to the continue state is determined.

In this embodiment, whether a state of the first robot is able to bechanged or not is detected according to the preset detection cycle, afirst probability of keeping the suspended state is determined, and asecond probability of switching from the suspended state to the continuestate is determined.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, it alsoshould be noted that, on the basis of the above embodiment, when a robotj in the normal state enters a dangerous area, the robot may use its ownsensor data (e.g., laser sensor, visual sensor, etc.) to detect whetherthere are other robots in front of the robot. In the case where thereare other robots and the target points of the other robots are the sameas the target point of the robot, the robot may perform statetransformation, that is, the current state is changed to a suspendedstate.

In this embodiment, for a robot in the suspended state, the robot mayperform small-scale obstacle avoidance while keeping still as much aspossible, and the obstacle avoidance has a higher priority than keepingstill. Therefore, a controlling equation at this time takes thefollowing form:

${u_{j} = {{0 \cdot t_{j}} - {b_{1} \cdot {\sum\limits_{i \in N_{j}}{r\left( {i,j} \right)}}} + {b_{2} \cdot \frac{w_{j} - q_{j}}{{w_{j} - q_{j}}}}}},$

where b1>b2>0 are constants, qj is the current position of the robot j,and wj is the position where the robot j is switched to the suspendedstate.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, whether astate of the first robot is able to be changed or not is detectedaccording to the preset detection cycle, a first probability (1-p) ofkeeping the suspended state is determined, and a second probability potswitching from the suspended state to the continue state is determined.

This embodiment has the beneficial effects that: whether a state of thefirst robot is able to be changed or not is detected according to thepreset detection cycle, and then a first probability of keeping thesuspended state is determined, and a second probability of switchingfrom the suspended state to the continue state is determined. Theembodiment provides a scheme for switching control between a suspendedstate and a continue state for realizing a more efficient distributedcongestion control scheme, so that the robot can independently performanti-congestion control according to the position of the robot and thestates of adjacent robots in the process of task execution, the problemsof system instability and relatively high resource occupation caused bycentralized congestion control are avoided, the execution efficiency ofcongestion control is increased, and the production cost is reduced.

Seventh Embodiment

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a seventh embodiment of a distributedcongestion control method of the present disclosure. On the basis of theabove embodiment, the operation that whether there are other robots inthe second area or not is detected when the first robot moves towardsthe target point, and in a case where there are other robots in thesecond area, the first robot and the other robots are coordinated todetermine the second robot allowed to simultaneously enter the firstarea further includes operations S29 and S30.

At S29, the first robot is controlled to move, towards the target pointin a case where the first robot is switched from the suspended state tothe continue state.

At S30, the first robot is switched from the continue state to thenormal state when the first robot reaches the target point.

In this embodiment, the first robot is controlled to move towards thetarget point in a case where the first robot is switched from thesuspended state to the continue state, and then the first robot isswitched from the continue state to the normal state when the firstrobot reaches the target point.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, in order toimprove the task execution efficiency and avoid additional congestion,when the robot in the continue state moves towards the target point, therobot will not be stopped and will remain in the moving state until therobot reaches the target point.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, when therobot moves towards the target point and reaches the target point, thestate of the robot may be switched to the normal state.

This embodiment has the beneficial effects that: the first robot iscontrolled to move towards the target point in a case where the firstrobot is switched from the suspended state to the continue state, andthen the first robot is switched from the continue state to the normalstate when the first robot reaches the target point. The embodimentprovides a switching control scheme of a normal state for realizing amore efficient distributed congestion control scheme, so that the robotcan independently perform anti-congestion control according to theposition of the robot and the states of adjacent robots in the processof task execution, the problems of system instability and relativelyhigh resource occupation caused by centralized congestion control areavoided, the execution efficiency of congestion control is increased,and the production cost is reduced.

Eighth Embodiment

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an eighth embodiment of a distributedcongestion control method of the present disclosure. On the basis of theabove embodiment, after the operation that whether there are otherrobots in the second area or not is detected when the first robot movestowards the target point, and in a case where there are other robots inthe second area, the first robot and the other robots are coordinated todetermine the second robot allowed to simultaneously enter the firstarea, the method includes operations S31 to S33 which are described indetail below.

At S31, the second robot is switched from the normal state to the lockedstate in a case where the second robot in the normal state is outsidethe second area and a robot in the suspended state or the locked stateis detected.

At S32, the second robot in the locked state is controlled to performobstacle avoidance movement in the third area, and the second robot isswitched from the locked state to the suspended state when the secondrobot reaches the second area during the obstacle avoidance movement.

At S33, the second robot is switched from the normal state to the lockedstate in a case where the second robot is outside the second area and arobot in the suspended state or the locked state is not detected.

In this embodiment, firstly, in a case where the second robot in thenormal state is outside the second area and a robot in the suspendedstate or the locked state is detected, the second robot is switched fromthe normal state to the locked state. Then, the second robot in thelocked state is controlled to perform obstacle avoidance movement in thethird area, and when the second robot reaches the second area during theobstacle avoidance movement, the second robot is switched from thelocked state to the suspended state. Finally, when the second robot isoutside the second area and a robot in the suspended state or the lockedstate is not detected, the second robot is switched from the lockedstate to the normal state.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, in order toavoid excessive congestion control, when a robot in the normal state isoutside a dangerous area, in the case where a robot in the suspendedstate or the locked state is detected, the robot may be switched to thelocked state.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, when anormal robot is outside the dangerous area, and there is a robot in thelocked state, the robot, like other robots in the suspended state, doesnot move towards the target point, so as to avoid further congestion.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, when a robotin the normal state is outside the dangerous area and other robots inthe suspended state or the locked state are not detected, it isdetermined that the robot can continue to move. Therefore, the state ofthe robot is switched back to the normal state.

In at least one exemplary implementation of the embodiment, when a robotin the normal state is outside the dangerous area and there is a robotin the locked state, in the case where the robot moves towards thedangerous area due to obstacle avoidance operation, in order to avoidthe possible congestion caused by subsequent obstacle avoidance, thestate of the robot is switched to the suspended state.

This embodiment has the beneficial effects that: in a case where thesecond robot in the normal state is outside the second area and a robotin the suspended state or the locked state is detected, the second robotis switched from the normal state to the locked state. Then, the secondrobot in the locked state is controlled to perform obstacle avoidancemovement in the third area, and when the second robot reaches the secondarea during the obstacle avoidance movement, the second robot isswitched from the locked state to the suspended state. Finally, when thesecond robot is outside the second area and a robot in the suspendedstate or the locked state is not detected, the second robot is switchedfrom the locked state to the normal state. The embodiment provides aswitching control scheme outside a dangerous area for realizing a moreefficient distributed congestion control scheme, so that the robot canindependently perform anti-congestion control according to the positionof the robot and the states of adjacent robots in the process of taskexecution, the problems of system instability and relatively highresource occupation caused by centralized congestion control areavoided, the execution efficiency of congestion control is increased,and the production cost is reduced.

Ninth Embodiment

On the basis of the above embodiment, the present disclosure provides arobot. The robot is capable of performing autonomous obstacle avoidancecontrol among a plurality of robots. The robot is configured to performmoving tasks under distributed congestion control. The robot includes amobile base, a sensing assembly and a processor.

The mobile base is configured to drive a robot to independently navigateto a target point of a task to be executed.

The sensing assembly determines whether there are other robots in anadjacent area of the robot or not through distance detection.

The processor is configured to perform distributed congestion control tocontrol the robot to reach the target point.

A first area and a second area are disposed centered on the targetpoint. The first area is included in the second area.

When a first robot moves towards the target point, whether there areother robots in the second area or not is detected. In a case wherethere are other robots in the second area, the first robot and the otherrobots are coordinated to determine a second robot allowed tosimultaneously enter the first area.

The second robot is controlled to move towards the target point in acase where the second robot has entered the first area.

It is to be noted that, the above robot embodiment and method embodimentbelong to the same concept, and the exemplary implementation process isdetailed in the method embodiment, and the technical features in themethod embodiment are applicable in the robot embodiment, which will notbe elaborated here.

Tenth Embodiment

On the basis of the above embodiment, the present disclosure provides acomputer-readable storage medium. A distributed congestion controlprogram is stored on the computer-readable storage medium. When thedistributed congestion control program is executed by a processor, theoperations of the distributed congestion control method as described inany one of the above embodiments are performed.

It is to be noted that, the above medium embodiment and methodembodiment belong to the same concept, and the exemplary implementationprocess is detailed in the method embodiment, and the technical featuresin the method embodiment are applicable in the medium embodiment, whichmay not be elaborated here.

It is to be noted that, herein, terms “include” and “contain” or anyother variants thereof are intended to cover nonexclusive inclusions, sothat, a process, a method, or an apparatus including a series ofelements not only includes those elements but also includes otherelements which are not clearly listed or further includes intrinsicelements of the process, the method or the apparatus. Under thecondition of no more limitations, an element defined by a statement“including a/an . . . ” does not exclude existence of additional sameelements in the process, the method, or the apparatus.

The above serial number of the embodiment of the present disclosure isonly for description and does not represent the advantages anddisadvantages of the embodiments.

Through the description of the above embodiments, those having ordinaryskill in the art can clearly understand that the above embodiment methodcan be realized by means of software and necessary general hardwareplatforms. Of course, the above embodiment method can also be realizedby hardware, but in many cases, the former is a better implementation.Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the embodimentsof the present disclosure essentially or the part that contributes tothe related art can be embodied in the form of a software product. Thecomputer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as aROM/RAM, a magnetic disc and a compact disc), including several commandsto make a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, a computer, a server,an air conditioner, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methoddescribed in various embodiments of the present disclosure.

The embodiments of the present disclosure are described above incombination with the drawings, but the present disclosure is not limitedto the above exemplary embodiments. The above exemplary embodiments areonly schematic, not restrictive. Under the enlightenment of the presentdisclosure, those having ordinary skill in the art can also make manyforms without departing from the scope protected by the purpose andclaims of the present disclosure, which belong to the protection of thepresent disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A distributed congestion control method,comprising: disposing a first area and a second area centered on atarget point, wherein the first area is comprised in the second area;detecting, when a first robot moves towards the target point, whetherthere are other robots in the second area or not, and in a case wherethere are other robots in the second area, coordinating the first robotand the other robots to determine a second robot allowed tosimultaneously enter the first area; and controlling the second robot tomove towards the target point in a case where the second robot hasentered the first area.
 2. The distributed congestion control methodaccording to claim 1, before disposing the first area and the secondarea centered on the target point, wherein the first area is comprisedin the second area, further comprising: independently maintaining astate machine by each robot; and determining a normal state, a suspendedstate, a locked state and a continue state of the robot by the statemachine.
 3. The distributed congestion control method according to claim2, wherein detecting, when the first robot moves towards the targetpoint, whether there are other robots in the second area or not, and ina case where there are other robots in the second area, coordinating thefirst robot and the other robots to determine the second robot allowedto simultaneously enter the first area comprises: determining, when thefirst robot moves towards the target point, that the first robot is inthe normal state; and detecting, when the first robot enters the secondarea, whether there are other robots in the second area or not.
 4. Thedistributed congestion control method according to claim 3, whereindetecting, when the first robot moves towards the target point, whetherthere are other robots in the second area or not, and in a case wherethere are other robots in the second area, coordinating the first robotand the other robots to determine the second robot allowed tosimultaneously enter the first area further comprises: in the case wherethere are other robots in the second area, detecting whether targetpoints of the other robots are the same as the target point of the firstrobot or not; and in a case where the target points of the other robotsare the same as the target point of the first robot, switching thenormal state of the first robot to the suspended state.
 5. Thedistributed congestion control method according to claim 4, whereindetecting, when the first robot moves towards the target point, whetherthere are other robots in the second area or not, and in a case wherethere are other robots in the second area, coordinating the first robotand the other robots to determine the second robot allowed tosimultaneously enter the first area further comprises: determining athird area corresponding to the first robot centered on the first robot;and controlling the first robot to perform obstacle avoidance movementin the third area.
 6. The distributed congestion control methodaccording to claim 5, wherein detecting, when the first robot movestowards the target point, whether there are other robots in the secondarea or not, and in a case where there are other robots in the secondarea, coordinating the first robot and the other robots to determine thesecond robot allowed to simultaneously enter the first area furthercomprises: detecting whether a state of the first robot is able to bechanged or not according to a preset detection cycle; and determining afirst probability of keeping the suspended state, and simultaneouslydetermining a second probability of switching from the suspended stateto the continue state.
 7. The distributed congestion control methodaccording to claim 6, wherein detecting, when the first robot movestowards the target point, whether there are other robots in the secondarea or not, and in a case where there are other robots in the secondarea, coordinating the first robot and the other robots to determine thesecond robot allowed to simultaneously enter the first area furthercomprises: controlling the first robot to move towards the target pointin a case where the first robot is switched from the suspended state tothe continue state; and switching the continue state of the first robotto the normal state when the first robot reaches the target point. 8.The distributed congestion control method according to claim 7, whereinafter detecting, when the first robot moves towards the target point,whether there are other robots in the second area or not, and in a casewhere there are other robots in the second area, coordinating the firstrobot and the other robots to determine the second robot allowed tosimultaneously enter the first area, the method further comprises:switching the second robot from the normal state to the locked state ina case where the second robot in the normal state is outside the secondarea and a robot in the suspended state or the locked state is detected;controlling the second robot in the locked state to perform obstacleavoidance movement in the third area, and switching the second robotfrom the locked state to the suspended state when the second robotreaches the second area during the obstacle avoidance movement; andswitching the second robot from the normal state to the locked state ina case where the second robot is outside the second area and a robot inthe suspended state or the locked state is not detected.
 9. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein a distributedcongestion control program is stored on the non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium, and when the distributed congestioncontrol program is executed by a processor, the operations of thedistributed congestion control method according to claim 8 areperformed.
 10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium,wherein a distributed congestion control program is stored on thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and when thedistributed congestion control program is executed by a processor, theoperations of the distributed congestion control method according toclaim 7 are performed.
 11. A non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium, wherein a distributed congestion control program is stored onthe non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and when thedistributed congestion control program is executed by a processor, theoperations of the distributed congestion control method according toclaim 6 are performed.
 12. A non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium, wherein a distributed congestion control program is stored onthe non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and when thedistributed congestion control program is executed by a processor, theoperations of the distributed congestion control method according toclaim 5 are performed.
 13. A non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium, wherein a distributed congestion control program is stored onthe non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and when thedistributed congestion control program is executed by a processor, theoperations of the distributed congestion control method according toclaim 4 are performed.
 14. A non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium, wherein a distributed congestion control program is stored onthe non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and when thedistributed congestion control program is executed by a processor, theoperations of the distributed congestion control method according toclaim 3 are performed.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium, wherein a distributed congestion control program is stored onthe non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and when thedistributed congestion control program is executed by a processor, theoperations of the distributed congestion control method according toclaim 2 are performed.
 16. A non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium, wherein a distributed congestion control program is stored onthe non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and when thedistributed congestion control program is executed by a processor, theoperations of the distributed congestion control method according toclaim 1 are performed.
 17. A robot, which is capable of performingautonomous obstacle avoidance control among a plurality of robots and isconfigured to perform moving tasks under distributed congestion control,wherein the robot comprises: a mobile base, configured to drive a robotto independently navigate to a target point of a task to be executed; asensing assembly, configured to determine whether there are other robotsin an adjacent area of the robot or not through distance detection; anda processor, configured to perform distributed congestion control tocontrol the robot to reach the target point; dispose a first area and asecond area centered on the target point, wherein the first area iscomprised in the second area; detect, when a first robot moves towardsthe target point, whether there are other robots in the second area ornot, and in a case where there are other robots in the second area,coordinate the first robot and the other robots to determine a secondrobot allowed to simultaneously enter the first area; and control thesecond robot to move towards the target point in a case where the secondrobot has entered the first area.